Kei Nishikori withstood a blistering early assault and saved five match points before battling past Frenchman Gael Monfils 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) in a bruising quarter-final at the Miami Open on Thursday.

The Japanese No 1 will face 24th seed Nick Kyrgios in the semi-finals after the Australian upset 12th seeded Canadian Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(4).

Sixth seed Nishikori appeared to have his match in control when leading 4-2 in the final set but his usually reliable forehand repeatedly let him down as he fell behind 4-5, 0-40 on serve before mounting a gutsy fightback.

The Japanese star saved five match points before winning the third-set tie break to seal semi-final spot

He saved four match points in that 10th game, and a fifth in the 12th, before racing into a 6-3 lead in the tiebreak as Monfils made a string of unforced errors, Nishikori finally sealing the win with a forehand crosscourt winner.

'When I was down 4-5 and 0-40, I thought I almost gave up the match,' Nishikori, 26, told ESPN in a courtside interview after an epic encounter between two of the most athletic players on the ATP World Tour that lasted two-and-a-half hours.

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'But I tried to play one point at a time and tried to focus on what I had to do, especially my serve. In the tiebreak, I just tried to focus again and fight harder.'

Nishikori, who also reached the last four in Miami two years ago, was left reeling in the opening set as the 16th-seeded Monfils played high-risk, aggressive tennis right from the start, highlighted by an explosive service game.

Nishikori (right) and Monfils embrace at the net at the end of an epic encounter that ebbed and flowed

Frenchman Monfils douses himself with cold water during the two-and-a-half-hour match in Florida

'I was a little bit surprised how he played, especially the first couple of games,' said Nishikori.

'I was waiting for a little bit more long rallies and I wasn't expecting to play that fast so I had to make some adjustment.'

Kyrgios took down his more fancied opponent in two sets to reach the last four for the first time in a ATP Masters 1000 event, riding a break in the first game of the match all the way to victory.

The Japanese No 1 will face 24th seed Nick Kyrgios in the semi-finals after the Australian beat Milos Raonic

Kyrgios took down his more fancied opponent to reach the last four for first time in an ATP Masters 1000 event

'I knew it would be a tough match. Milos has played great the last couple of weeks and the only person he's lost to is Djokovic so I knew it would be a tough task,' Kyrgios said.

'I played really well out here, the crowd was a lot of fun, the atmosphere was really good and I thought the level of tennis was really good as well.

'To be honest I didn't think I was going to break during the match but I broke him in the first game. I came out really energetic and I got pretty lucky and that definitely made me more relaxed and made me play my game a little bit easier.'